Submission Guidelines

Traveling Sportsman covers the globe with fishing, hunting and travel features. Most of our affluent readers have already experienced trips and will want to go on more. Our slant is less about the "how-to" details and more focused on the "where-to" specifics, providing valuable travel information as well as depicting the fishing/hunting action.

We're currently a quarterly magazine with plans to go bimonthly and ultimately monthly. Each issue will provide destination articles plus a variety of departments, most of which are freelance written.

Article Perspective

Traveling Sportsman involves trip experiences to resorts and lodges on all coasts and inland points of the compass. We cover all styles of freshwater and saltwater fishing; same with features on upland bird to big-game hunting.

A fishing or hunting trip is defined by several days actually spent on the water or in the field, NOT a portion of a day or just an incidental day. It needs to be based on a fishing or hunting trip with tourism added rather than a tourism trip with fishing or hunting added. Scheduling multiple days should overcome weather uncertainties, the fish or game not cooperating, and the ability to obtain better material and images. No one is interested in reading about a fishless day or unsuccessful hunt, and likewise such articles will not be accepted.

Our readers already know how to fish or hunt and most will be veteran travelers, so writers must likewise be experienced rather than novices. Superficial articles with only elementary references to fishing or hunting won't be accepted. Inclusion of quotes and "how-to" by guides and local experts are encouraged as long as the article is mainly based on the author's expertise and experiences.

Do include a strong dose of the tourism aspects. This magazine is, after all, the Traveling Sportsman. About a third of the article length will entail recommendations on places to stay and their amenities (especially where you stayed), good restaurants, nightlife, sightseeing tours, local culture and events, shopping hints, notable customs regulations, etc.

Traveling Sportsman articles seek to wow and awe readers by showcasing fishing/hunting locations seldom visited and not often (or ever) written about. The operant judgment of the suitability of an article is whether a reader will feel that the location, facilities, amenities, tourism aspects and target species are worth spending money to visit. The travel incentive has to be prominent, and the fact a location can be easily accessed is, in most cases, actually less desirable.

TS is a family oriented publication and therefore topics, images and writing should appeal to all age groups.

Covers

We're always interested in well-known celebrities in the worlds of sport, entertainment or business as cover subjects. They of course must enjoy fishing or hunting. A suitable cover image would show him or her holding or casting a rod, releasing a fish, in the field on a hunt or similar pose.

Scenic shots will also be considered as a cover, showing a beautiful setting with an angler or hunter included. This might put someone in an action shot or in a boat, blind, ATV, etc.

Rights

Since TS is international in scope, we buy First International Serial Rights for one year, meaning we want original material (text and images) only and exclusive use of it for one year before it appears anywhere else in the world.

Rates of Pay

Query first; replies usually sent same day. We provide an Article Proposal (AP) with each accepted query that outlines all manuscript and sidebar word counts, image specs, pay rates, deadline, etc. Most features total about 2,500 words including sidebars.

We pay $1,000 per article plus additional for your images that ultimately appear with the feature. Payment for the manuscript is made upon acceptance and a separate payment is issued for images upon publication. For writers and photographers outside the U.S., we'll arrange for bank transfers.

Expenses normally are the responsibility of the writer/photographer, although most destinations provide comps with proof of an assignment/commission (AP).

For photos, we will accept low-res for initial viewing/selection purposes, but all images for publication must be color (in most cases) and at least 300 dpi at 4 x 6 inches in JPEG, TIF or RAW format. Images can also be sent to our FTP site. Do not adjust your images as to size, cropping, coloration, etc., so our Art Director has more flexibility. Tack-sharp prints or slides are also acceptable.

Images must show the fishing or hunting aspect of the trip plus a full complement of travel-related scenes. We prefer candid rather than posed shots in most cases, and a selection of horizontals and verticals. Image rates:

Cover: $1,500 (scenics) to $2,000 (celebrities)
Two-page spread: $400
Full page: $325
Half page: $200
One-third page: $175
Under one-third page: $75

Suitable images must accompany article submissions. We will consider images sent separately for use with other articles or as we may request. No research or shipping fees are normally reimbursed.